Page 206 of A King's Oath

“At this age! Am I going crazy or what?”

Nobody gave you the leeway to become like this.

“There was Dadi Sarkar, there was Hira ben,” he pointed.

They were old, and you always thought about them before yourself.

“Am I not thinking about her before myself?” Samarth introspected softly.

Not lately.

A shiver ran up his spine and across his shoulders.

“Rawal?”

He turned.

“Rajmata is expecting you in Kamal Mahal. Giriraj Hukum has graced Nawanagar.”

Samarth’s eyebrows shot up. He wasn’t surprised by Hukum’s surprise visit. Hukum was known to drop in unannounced, and not even in the protocol due to a king of his stature. His car would quietly glide up to the palace gates, sometimes even without his security detail. The guards would have to verify it is him and he would enjoy joking around with them.

Samarth walked to Kamal Mahal, resplendent with its black and white flooring that bloomed in the shape of geometric lotus petals.

“This is a first!” Hukum announced from the baithak, one ankle crossed over his knee, his canary yellow polo moulded so well to his arms that his biceps were bulging. “You come to visit the sick and the sick is holding court.”

“I might be sick but you seem to be in the pink of health, Hukum,” Samarth folded his hands and bent to touch his feet. He thumped his arm — “I was told by my doctor to start weight training. Helps with aging better. Start Siddharth early, Tara.”

“I cannot mention the wordsoldandSidin one sentence anymore,” Rajmata remarked.

“It’s kind of a touchy topic now,” Samarth finished for her as her eyes stayed on him to check if he was falling over. He sat down on one of the armchairs to avoid that mishap.

“Giri, why don’t you ever come to my kingdom like Hukum?!” Papa’s voice preceded him. He came in with his iPad and files, a rare sight ever since he had passed on the majority of his workload.

“That’s boring. Come, sit. Tara has something to say to you.”

“What?” Papa glanced at her, his hand coming to Samarth’s nape discreetly as he passed him to check his temperature before taking a seat next to her. Samarth noted their silent conversation.

Is it cool?

It is.

“Something about aging well if you start weight training early…” Rajmata deadpanned. “I didn’t say it, Hukum has started weight training.”

“Really? Doesn’t look like it.”

“Touchy, indeed,” Hukum nodded.

“What touchy?”

“Sid, I have decided something,” Rajmata intervened.

“And what’s that?”

“Samarth is going on a vacation.”

Samarth gaped at her, then at his father — “That’s a decision now?”

“It is,” Rajmata declared. “When was your last vacation?”

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